by Edward Boice

The 2016 Career Fair at RACC provided potential employees and employers with a chance to network and helped aspiring professionals learn about job opportunities.

RACC hosted a Career Fair on April 6, providing an opportunity for students and aspiring professionals to learn about embarking on a career path. Roughly over 200 people attended the event, which was held in the Schmidt Training and Technological Center. There were 48 local companies in attendance, sending out representatives who informed attendees about their companies and career prospects in students’ chosen fields.

Melanie Fares, Career Development Specialist at RACC, said that the event was a success and an excellent career opportunity for attendees.

Thomas Spitz, a RACC accounting student, and Cathie Julian, a business major who graduated from another school, both claimed that even though they hadn’t met with specific representatives, the event helped them feel fully prepared for whatever interviews were ahead of them.

Among the company representatives were Lynn Kaspy of Can Corporation for America, and Ada Mejia of Giorgio Foods, Inc. Both Human Resources managers, they explained that the Career Fair was great for person-to-person communication and broadening networks. Since Kaspy and Mejia are middle line managers, they will also be available to meet employees’ needs upon hiring. This means that building a rapport with attendees at the Career Fair can come in handy in the future.

Both managers have a positive outlook on community colleges. They see community colleges as places where students can get a better feel for what they want to major in. The two-year institution can also be excellent for high school students who need to prepare themselves mentally for 4-year colleges.

Mejia explained that companies can also help with student uncertainty by providing some needed guidance about careers. The companies can explain to interested students the classes that they need to prepare for a career and offer insights into the kinds of careers that are available at their companies for appropriately prepared graduates.

For getting into the job market, Kaspy explained, “[f]our years of college is better than two years,” but she added that a RACC education is still valuable.

Both Kaspy and Meija agreed that education is essential in today’s society, and the more a person can get, the better off that person will be.

The purpose of an education is to give students more opportunities, and the Career Fair certainly provided students with a sense of those opportunities and the contribution education makes to seizing them.

Categories: Campus Life